Riddle me this Batman: What do you get when you wrap an enigma inside a mystery and stuff it inside a puzzle? A ridiculously good deal. Like 100% estate grown Cabernet for $19 type ridiculous.

This wine was custom produced for the Hoffman family from their Sonoma Mountain estate fruit, vinified by the excellent Ken Wornick, and nurtured in the cave of Deerfield Ranch Winery. Yep, that’s right - Ken was the winemaker but the wine was crushed, aged, and bottled at Deerfield, and it benefited from their team’s talent.

Only 3 barrels were made. Sometimes wine like this needs a home. That’s what the Wine Spies does - we leave no rock unturned to scour wine country for excellent deals, no matter where they are to be found.

Looking for a pedigree? Ken actually documented the 2017 harvest on his blog and you can see video of the fruit being sorted at Deerfield.

And it is a beauty! Long legs cling to the side of the glass and slide down into a deep dark pit. You’ll know from first sniff this one’s got it all. Bright red fruit and spice. Perfectly melded oak nuances of gingerbread and vanilla mix with fresh fruit notes of plum and cherry. Bright acidity meets smooth tannin in this well balanced Cab that drinks like a much more expensive wine. Perfect for a high quality homemade boeuf bourguignon.

Top notch fruit from a tiny estate, babied by the winemaker assisted by the team at Deerfield Ranch Winery, you simply won’t find a 100% Sonoma Mountain Cab this good, for this price. You DID see that price, right??